Frequently Asked Questions

Answers

Q: What does my licence cover?

a) Download For Personal Use

Covers personal usage and storage by the user.

Unauthorized synchronisation use with audio or audio-visual productions, copying, hiring, lending, broadcast and public performance are strictly prohibited.

b) Home / Student Productions:

Covers synchronisation use in home/student videos, personal power point presentations, films and other multi-media projects or for use in your education establishment or church. Covers up to 10 copies of the finished audio-visual production for distribution to festivals, friends and family or User Generated Content aggregators. Excludes products for commercial sale or exploitation.

c) Corporate / Charity Productions: covers synchronisation use in Corporate or Charitable videos, DVDs, presentations, web-sites or other multi-media projects. Covers up to 100 copies of the finished audio-visual production for distribution within the Corporation or Charity.

d) TV & Other Productions: covers synchronisation use with film, radio and television programmes, commercials, or any other multimedia, audio-visual or computer generated productions or presentations.

All rights in the sound recording and music and the dubbing fee are cleared for the above uses for the world.

e) Producer Blanket Licences

For subscribers who elect to take out a music blanket licence there is no restriction on the amount of any music track or number of tracks that may be used in any production made during the subscription period. You may use any track in whole or in part and any number of times in any production and re-edit a track to any required length.

The Subscriber must be directly involved in either the production or post production process or be responsible for the commissioning of the production to qualify under this agreement.

During your subscription period you can use as much Audio Network music as you want, and everything you use is covered forever for multiple platforms, for the world.

View sample Music Blanket License

View Download and Licence information

Q: What does my licence not cover?

Your production licence covers all costs normally paid by the production company including all mechanical synchronisation fees, but excludes the following royalties normally payable by the broadcaster, distributor or manufacturer:

Performing right fees are normally paid by the broadcaster or website owner. (Performance fees are not payable for music in the Borradaile Classical Collection or for sound effects).

Mechanical royalties are normally paid by the distributor or manufacturer on the sale of CDs or other physical products. This is generally for companies releasing music only CDs. If the music is merely an incidental part of the production (ie talking books etc) you are covered under our general retail license.

The music tracks may not be given or sold on to third parties in any format without Audio Network's permission, unless incorporated into a production covered by your agreement.

If required, a film performance licence covering all United States based cinemas can be obtained direct from Audio Network covering the public performance of any film containing music from our catalogue.

Q: What are the advantages of the Audio Network blanket licence over other sources of music?

If you're a regular producer of audio-visual productions, you can use Audio Network's revolutionary service to save you time and money.

Our subscription service is not yet available for Personal Users, Home Users or Student Users.

Subscribe to our service and you can avoid the complex and time consuming process of clearing music tracks. Now you can use all the music you want and your productions are cleared automatically for the world, for ever.

Our subscription based blanket licenses bypass all the usual nonsense. One fee, once a year or per production and everything is done.

• Instant access to world class music and instant global licenses covering all your productions.
  
  
• Use the website to find and audition your tracks and then either download them or take them straight off the CD. You can search by composer, mood, instrumentation, keyword - anything you like - even search by tempo or key!
  
  
• New, specially commissioned catalogue covering every musical genre.
  
  
• Most tracks have loads of mixes, cuts and versions to make them easier to use.
  
  

Our subscription service is not yet available for Personal, Home or Student Users.

Q: How much does it cost?

You can either download music tracks or sound effects individually, or take out a music blanket license covering unlimited use of our music in all your productions. Online prices are published next to the sound effect or music track.

If you are in the UK, music blanket licenses cost:

If you are selling your production (via DVD, videos or some other medium) to the public, there is a small additional retail licence:

If you want to download your track(s), the license is included in the download price. Short tracks are just a few £s, and the longer ones are capped to a maximum of £150 - cleared for the world, in perpetuity.

New Production Music Library CDs are automatically sent to holders of blanket licences free-of-charge as soon as they are released. The The Borradaile Classical Collection is currently only available online.

Audio Network can tailor bespoke blanket licences to meet your specific requirements - whatever, wherever, forever. Please call us for details.

For production companies based outside the United Kingdom please contact Audio Network or your local sub-publisher for details of the blanket licence rate card applicable in your territory

Special blanket rates available for personal use, corporate videos/presentations/web sites, radio companies and low budget users upon request.

Q: How much money will I save?

A blanket licence from Audio Network offers substantial savings against the fixed industry rate card used by traditional production music libraries.

Many of our regular customers are saving tens of thousand of pounds a year.

Example 1A UK production company using production music in five 30-minute terrestrial television programmes being sold internationally would save £ 4,250 against the traditional production music library rate for broadcast programmes.

Example 2 A UK based advertising agency producing five 30 second (or shorter) terrestrial television advertisements for broadcast in Europe would save over £9,000 against the traditional production music library rate.

Q: How can Audio Network afford to offer such good value for money?

Audio Network bypasses many of the middle-men who are normally involved with the supply of music and sound effects to the end-user.

We are not registered as Production Music with MCPS or PPL so we do not have to pay them commission.

As owners of both publishing and recording rights in our music catalogue we avoid the administrative overheads associated with clearing rights on a work by work basis through a simple and easy to administer blanket licence.

The primary source of revenue for both Audio Network and our composers is the performance royalties paid by broadcasters, not by producers.

Most importantly, we and our composers believe that by making our music easy and inexpensive to use, more will be used, and that's good for us all.

Q: If I have a blanket licence for my productions, can I get access to Audio Network music?

Probably, yes. Call us with your individual details and we will confirm.

Audio Network is not a member of PPL, so no need to worry about additional PPL charges.

As contracts can be complicated please contact us with details of your blanket license agreements with either the MCPS or your local collecting society and we will tailor an appropriate solution to meet your particular circumstances.

Q: What are the advantages of a production company becoming an online member of Audio Network and how do I do it?

Audio Network has a unique online service which allows subscribers in to log into their own music and sound effects shopping world! You will get your own, editable pick lists which can be emailed to other members of your production team. If you do not have an existing subscription with Audio Network, you can download music and effects by simply registering on the site and downloading music and effects to your shopping cart. You can then pay via credit card when you download the files.

If you have an annual or multiple production subscription with Audio Network, please contact us and we can upgrade your access to the site so you can download music tracks free of charge - you can also have as many pick lists as you like. In addition to all this, you'll get access to tracks which aren't released on CD yet and which you won't find on the normal website.

To become a member, simply call us for details and we'll get you set up!

The on-line member service is currently not available to Personal Users, Home Users or Student Users.

Q: How do I get access to the Soundstorm sound effects catalogue?

We are constantly loading new SoundStorm sound effects to our web site. You can search for and access over 50,000 effects on our site and download them direct to your hard drive

If you are a heavy user of sound effects please contact us if you would like to discuss loading the entire catalogue for distribution via your internal network to avoid waiting for download of individual effects over the Internet.

Q: Do I have to register what music I use?

Yes. If you are downloading files from this website for use in an audio-visual production, you will be asked for the name of the production.

If you are using Audio Network Production Music Library, it is important for broadcasters to know the Publisher (Audio Network), Composer, Record Company (Audio Network), title and duration of each track so that Performance Royalties are properly accounted for and the composers get paid.

Remember that the Audio Network Production Music Library is a 'commercial music catalogue' and has not been registered as a 'production music library' with the MCPS. However unlike a normal 'commercial music catalogue' there are no PPL fees payable.

You will need to fill in the consignment note/cue sheet in the normal way and send a copy to Audio Network.

You can either post us the copy of the completed forms to:

      School Farm Studios,
      Little Maplestead,
      Halstead,
      Essex,
      CO9 2SN,
      England.

Or email the details to office@audiolicense.net.

Q: How do I access music on CD?

Production company subscribers to an Audio Network blanket licence are automatically sent a binder of CDs and a catalogue. We send new CDs to subscribers automatically, and without charge, as they are released. We always recommend that users search for, and audition tracks online. The site is being updated regularly with new material and the search engine is a more efficient search facility than any paper catalogue can be.

We also send music CDs to broadcasters upon request.

Please contact us if you would like access to any of the files yet to be released on CD or if you would like us to email you any music file yet to be loaded to the web site.

Q: The embedded media player on the website does not preview the music and sound effects files, what can I do?

The embedded media player on the site is actually a flash player which is a plugin to your browser and plays low resolution mp3s. Occasionally, this does not work if certain types of pop up window blocking software are being used. Simply temporarily disabling the software should solve this problem.

Q: I'm having problems listening to my purchased and downloaded sound effects files, what can I do?

This problem normally affects pc users when windows media player isn't set up to play aiff/aif files (the format of the downloaded sound effects files) by default. To rectify this go Start/Control Panel/Folder Options/ File Types and select the aif file type in the registered file type box. Then hit the 'Change' button opposite the 'Opens With' text and choose windows media player as the default program.

Q: I need to convert my purchased sound effects files into wav format, how do I go about it?

This can be done in many sound editing packages or a program such as Sonic Foundry Batch Convertor.

Q: How do I know if the music is any good?

The experience and reputations of our composers and SoundStorm sound designers should speak for themselves. Most of them have worked at the very top of their fields and we never take on a new writer unless they can show they have an original and exciting approach to writing music. See the composers' biographies page for more information.

You can always check our music and sound out online and judge that for yourself. Remember that we have reduced the quality of the sound preview on the web site substantially to allow you to stream the tracks over the web quickly. Once you have paid for the sound you will be able to access the full quality sound files.

Q: What kind of music does the Borradaile Classical Collection contain?

Popular music from the baroque, classical and romantic periods including famous composers from Bach to Beethoven, Schubert to Chopin, and featuring solo instruments, chamber groups and full symphony orchestras. All tracks are recorded to the highest standards.

Q: Can I search for works by a particular composer in the Borradaile Classical Collection?

Either type the composer's name into the Classical Music Search Text Box at the top of the Borradaile Classical Collection home page and click 'go', or search by composer, ensemble type/instrumentation, featured/solo instrument, over 20 genres and moods, or by period (baroque/classical/romantic) by clicking on the category listings on the same page. We're proud of our database, which offers one of the most comprehensive search facilities around. The Borradaile Classical Collection home page can be accessed by clicking the 'Borradaile' Logo in the left hand column of every page on the site.

Q: What's the difference between the Borradaile Classical Collection and the regular Audio Network Production Music Library?

Audio Network's Production Music Library has been commissioned and compiled specifically with media use in mind. All the Borradaile Collection tracks are original works or original arrangements of famous works.

The Borradaile Classical Collection consists of top-quality recordings of famous classical works. They have been re-mastered by Audio Network for media use and to ensure optimum dynamic clarity and a minimum of peaks and troughs.

Under the terms of our licence the Borradaile Classical Collection is only available for use in audio-visual productions under a fixed rate card without the tiered pricing by user type set out against each of the tracks in the Audio Network Production Music Library tracks.

Q: Can I use the Borradaile Classical Collection tracks under my existing Audio Network licence?

The Borradaile Classical Collection is entirely separate from the production music library and you need a specific licence to use it. See rate card for prices.

Q: Can I get the Borradaile Classical Collection on CDs

Sorry, no! The Borradaile Classical Collection is currently only available via download. If you take out a licence to use the Classical Collection, we can set you up so you don't have to pay every time you download.